Diabetic Seniors » diabetes prevention

Prevent Diabetes Complications

DiabeticSeniors.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:56:00 +0000

You might have heard it said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And, should you ask the medical professionals, they would be quick to agree that maintaining a healthy diet can be a key factor in Type 2 Diabetes prevention. A second ingredient in Diabetes prevention is frequent physical activity–whether it is a standard 30 minute exercise routine each day or 3 segments of 10 minutes of physical activity. “What kinds of physical activity?” you ask—from cleaning house to cutting grass with a push mower, weeding the garden or walking to the store around the corner. It doesn’t really matter what you do, just do something. As the old song says, “Let’s get physical!”

Recent studies have found that Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the United States. There are approximately 17 million (1/16) Americans with Diabetes, with 90-95% of them being Type 2 Diabetes. Complications like high blood pressure, heart trouble and eye problems -especially as one ages, is becoming more prevalent. So what can you do about diabetic complication prevention? Ironically, there is a “one key solution fits all” –by keeping a tight rein on your diet and blood glucose. And, if you are already dealing with a Diabetes complication, keeping a strict blood glucose level and paying attention to what you eat can help a great deal.

Not sure what your problem is? Maybe you “just don’t feel right.” Don’t stress or be concerned that someone will think you are a hypochondriac. You know your body, and know when something is wrong. Go see your doctor, let them know what you are experiencing. Some common Diabetes complications begin as the following:

Vision problems (blurry, flashes, spots)
Unexplained, extreme tiredness
Discomfort in legs—especially when walking
Numbness in extremities—hands, feet
Chest pain
Cut or sores that stay infected or take a while to heal

Any of these symptoms can lead to diabetic complications. So, consulting your doctor is not something to hesitate over. Since there are a variety of health concerns with Type 2 Diabetes, prevention of potential complications is important. Here are a few simple steps you can take toward diabetic complication prevention—

Keep a tight check on blood glucose.
If you smoke—quit!
Eat the right foods (items high in protein and low in carbohydrates are especially good)
Control your blood pressure—watch out for foods high in salt/sodium
Get regular exercise

Keeping up with the variety of daily needs and requirements of Diabetes and the prevention of associated diabetic complications will take planning and commitment. However, it is worth it! Being able to live your life without heart trouble, kidney problems (nephropathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and eye sight problems (retinopathy) are definitely reasons to keep your blood glucose and weight under control.

Diabetes Screening

DiabeticSeniors.com — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Screening for diabetes is extremely important if you are in a high risk demographic.

Finding out that you are a diabetic is a life altering event. Ask anyone who has diabetes, and they can likely tell you what was going on in their life, and more interestingly, their feelings and reactions as they adapted to a new way of living. Not surprisingly, if you were to ask if diabetes was an expected diagnosis, many of them would reply, “No”.

Type 1 Diabetes Screening

In the not so distant past, diabetes was a little understood disease, but since the mid 1990’s, there has been a great deal of advancement in understanding diabetes’ causes and the effects. Ironically, this greater understanding does not show enough cause for early diabetes screening—especially in the case of Type 1 Diabetes. However, as Type 1 Diabetes (called Juvenile Diabetes until 1997) is usually diagnosed soon after its symptoms are manifested, early screening for diabetes would only be useful in less than 0.5%. Also, there is little agreement on a course of action were a positive Type 1 Diabetes result be found due to pediatric screening for diabetes. At present, there is extensive research being done to find a way to prevent Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes Screening

Most often screening for diabetes is done when a person meets a minimum of 4 basic criteria. These established diabetes screening conditions are:
1.   Age
2.   Weight
3.   Race
4.   Family Medical History
5.   Developed gestational diabetes
6.   Amount of physical activity
7.   High blood pressure

Usually, regular screening for diabetes is not begun until age 45 or pregnancy in adults, but due to the rise of obesity in children and young adults, diabetes screening can be performed as early as 10 years old. In adults diabetes screening should be done every 3 years and in children, screening should be done every 2 years.

How is Diabetes Screening Done?

The most widely used methods of screening for diabetes is the fasting plasma glucose test and the oral glucose tolerance test. Due to its lower cost and convenience, the fasting plasma glucose test is the most used diabetes screening method. If an initial fasting plasma glucose test results are higher than 126 mg/dl, then a second test will be scheduled for an alternate day. If the results of the second fasting plasma glucose test are also 126 mg/dl or higher then an oral glucose tolerance test is planned. Should the results for the oral glucose tolerance test be 200 mg/dl, then a positive diagnosis of diabetes will be given on a different day.
In spite of medical advancement, early detection of diabetes is still not as practical as many would like. However, should you have any of the conditions mentioned earlier, you should talk to your about doctor about diabetes screening. Even if a positive diagnosis is the result, you are still one step closer to living life to its fullest potential—diabetes and all!